ccording to one school of thought, the present day Brahmins are the descendents of Aryans whoinvaded India from central Asia around 6000 B.C, settled in the Gangetic plain and established their wayof life, after driving out the local inhabitants called the Dravidians, to the South. Aryan society wasinitially divided into three classes, the priestly class, the warrior class and the rest. Over the millenniumsintermixture took place and the Dravidian priestly class adopted the Brahmin norms of the conquerors.Yet another school of thought that has gained ground in recent times, challenges the Aryan invasiontheory as a biased view of Western Indologists, albeit their commendable contributions in collectinganalyzing and spreading the message of the Vedas. Not denying that people from central Asia might havecome to India, as have several successive waves, this hypothesis says that a highly evolved culture alreadyexisted which assimilated the Aryans. This view is supported by archeological findings at Harappa (nowin Pakistan). This period is recognized as the Indus (Sindhu river) valley civilization.The earliest reference to Brahmins, a derivative of the word Brahmana, in the classical language of Sanskrit, occurs in the Vedas written about 6000 B.C" Brahmanosya mukhamaseethbahoo raajanya kritahaUroo tadasya yadVysyahaPadbhyagam shoodro ajaayata." (Purusha Sukta)

In the Bhagavadgita, which is of much later origin, lord Krishna says," Chaatur varnam maya sristyam, Guna, Karma vibhagashah".

‘‘

I created the four classes, depending on their nature (Gunas namely Satva, Rajas or Tamas) and pastactions (Karma).The scriptures do not say that this class is superioror that class is inferior. Heredity as a caste marker isof much later origin and thousands of castes have proliferated in India.From ancient timesBrahmins are dedicated to the study of the Vedas, Philosophy, Teaching, Astrologyand Medical science, spreading the message of Hinduism, being advisers to kings and Governments andso forth.In answering his own rhetorical question

‘‘

What is the duty of the Brahmin?

’’

The sixty

––

eighthShankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, has said,

‘‘

The most important aspect of our worldlylives is to obtain the grace of God. It is the duty of the Brahmins to obtain such grace for the benefit of society

’’

.

H e r i t a g e

The Brahminic concepts and practices have deep roots going back to 6000 B.C calledthe Vedic period.

Itwas during this period that the priestly class exerted their greatest influence on society. Animal sacrifice was animportant form of worshipping gods. The sacrificial ceremonies that became elaborate, demanded special

training for the priestly class. The

‘‘

Yajna kartru

’’

(the head of the family who performed the Yajna) who might be a king or a Brahmin house - holder had limitations for conducting the complex and minute rituals of thesacrificial ceremony.

.Yetanother circumstance that led to the ascendancy of the priestly class was the need to preserve the Vedas and promote Vedic culture. The Brahmin class assumed this responsibility. To be worthy for this honor, theBrahmin became devoted to his calling, set and lived by high standards, shunned worldly honor, spoke the truth,led a virtuous life, and kept himself pure in mind and body. This, he did with admirable dignity and honor.

Vedic tradition is still a driving force for millions of Hindustheworld over

, thanks to the devotion andsacrifice of the priestly class, who weathered the storms of bigotry and hatred not only of the alien forces, butalso of certain sections of Indian society which did not see eye to eye with the Brahmin class. This bigotrycontinues even to this day.

Vedas

BrahmaVeda means

‘‘

Divine knowledge

’’

. It is believed that the Vedas emanated like breath from the creator

‘

Brahma

’

,the soul of the universe. They were revealed to the

‘

Rishis

’

(sages) and hence known as

‘

Shrutis

’

. (what washeard).The Vedas dating back to 6000 B.C are the holy books on which the Hindu religion is based.

There are fourVedas, Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda and Atharva-Veda.

Of these the Rig-Veda is the chief. Vedasconsist of Hymns (sacred songs, mantras) written in Sanskrit. Vedas have been handed down from generation togeneration by word of mouth by dedicated generations of Brahmins.for the benefit of humanity.

Phenomenon of Oral Communication.

"In the British Museum one may see the written Bible of the third and fourth centuries A.D; The Holy Qoran of thirteen hundred years ago beautifully scribed, but one would rarely find a script of the Veda of such an ancientdate. Such an amazing phenomenon of preserving the most ancient texts of 20,000 verses through all the yearsof History could not have occurred in any other land. The credit goes to the traditional Brahmanas of India whoagainst all hazards of human history could keep the texts so well preserved with the right phonetic accents andaccuracy to this day."Credit:- "The Holy Vedas - A Golden Treasury" by Pandit SatyakamVidyalankar. Published by ClarionBooks. Delhi.Each Veda consists of three parts known as

Mantras, Brahmanas and Aranyakas.

The collection of themantras (hymns) is called Samhita. The Brahmanas include the precepts and religious duties. The Upanishadsand the Aranyakas are the concluding portions of the Brahmanas, which discuss philosophical concepts. TheUpanishads contain the intellectual background of the subsequent thought of the country - India

‘

While the

hymns reflect the creativity of the poets

,

the

Brahmanas are thework ofthepriests

and the

Upanishads are the treatise of meditations of thephilosophersand deal with

‘‘

esoteric doctrine.

’’

A unique feature of theVedasis that theydo not say,

’

this is the only God

’

. Or

‘

this is the only way

’

. They are non

–

dogmatic.

Rig-veda

The Rig-Veda Samhita (collection) consists of 1017 hymns (Mantras), covering a total of about 10,589 verses,in praise of gods. (Devas). It begins and ends with a hymn to Agni (god of fire).

The Vedas and Upanishads also contain verses of universal appeal. Some examples:"

That is full, this is fullFrom Fullness is born fullnessWhen fullness is taken away from fullness,Fullness still remains

’’

.

According to His Holiness Sri Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna consciousness -ISKCON,

" The personality of Godhead is perfect and complete. Because He is completely perfect, all emanationsfrom Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as a complete whole. Whatever isproduced of the complete whole, is also complete in itself. Because He is the complete whole, even thoughso many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.""Satyam Vada, Dharmam Chara".

Mother is divine, Father is divine, Teacher is divine, Guest is divine

’’

.

The Vedas, like no other religious text, pray for the well being of not only the human beings but alsoof animals and plant life:

"Shanno astu Dwipade sham Chatushpade"

‘‘

Let not only two legged but four legged beings thrive

’’

.

Yajur-veda

The word

‘

yaj

’

means worship and the word

‘

yajur

’’

means sacrificial worship

.

Yajur - Veda

gives a practicalshape to the verses of the Rig-Veda, and helps

actual performanceof the Yajnas

by using the hymns andmantras of the Rig-Veda. This Veda has 1975 verses.Yajur - Veda is divided into two main branches.

Shukla (white) Yajur-veda

and

Krishna (black) Yajur -Veda

. Rishi

‘

Yaajnavalkya

’

is believed to have brought the Shukla Yajur - Veda to the knowledge of the world,from the Sun god. While

Shukla Yajur-Veda is the prevalent school in North India, Krishna Yajur-Veda isthe normin South India.

Sama-Veda

"Sama"

pronounced as

‘

Saama

’

, means to bring peace (Shanti) of mind.

TheSama-Veda sets to melodiousmusic, the mantras of the Rig-Veda

.Sama Gaana is said to be the basis and source of the seven Swaras(notes) which are embedded in to Indian classical music

.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna declares,

‘‘

AmongsttheVedas, I am Sama Veda.

’’

Sama Veda has 1875 verses.

Atharva-Veda

This Veda is named after a Rishi by name Atharvan

,

who brought to light these Mantras. Many types of Mantras to ward off evil and hardship and for destruction of ones enemies are contained here. This Veda hasmantras that pertain to gods not mentioned in the other Vedas, also hymns dealing with Creation.

Brahma whosupervises Yajnas, is representative of Atharva Veda.

This Veda has 5977 versesThere are different sets of priests for each of the first three Vedas. Those who specialize in reciting the Rig Vedaare called